HUNK STRIPPER FILM HOPES TO REACH GAY AUDIENCE

Magic Mike, the new film about a group of male strippers starring some of Hollywood’s hottest hunks, hopes to appeal to a gay audience.

Directed by Steven Soderbergh, the film is based on the real-life experiences of its star, Channing Tatum, who worked as a stripper before his acting career took off.

In addition to Tatum, the film also stars a bevy of hunky stars including True Blood’s Joe Manganiello, Alex Pettyfer, Matthew McConaughey and Matt Bomer – all of whom appear on the cover of the latest issue of Entertainment Weekly.

Despite Magic Mike focusing on a heterosexual romance, Tatum believes it will find a gay audience thanks to its stars.

“With Joe Manganiello naked in a movie, I think even straight guys are going to be, ‘Shit, I need to see that’. That man is a specimen,” Tatum told OUT magazine.

“People say that women and the gay community will go see it – knock on wood – but I know straight guys won’t be like, ‘Yo, what’s up man – you wanna go see the stripping movie after the game tonight?’ I doubt they’ll have the balls to see it,” said Tatum.

Speaking about his stripping days in Florida when he was 19, Tatum said: “I was definitely looking for something to take me into the dark side. You learn something about yourself, you learn about men, women, you see a lot of depressing shit, people that are lost. But at the same time, the dark side can be exciting. It can feel like you’re cheating death every night.”

In an interview with the Advocate, his co-star McConaughey who plays the owner of an all-male strip club, said that he also believes that the film will appeal to gay men.

“They should be pumped, and they should come out in droves, because they won’t be let down. I think they’ll come out more excited then they came in. I look forward to hearing the chatter of the gay community after they see it, including their answer to [the] question of who’s the hottest.”

When it came to his own striptease scene in the film, McConaughey said that “at first it was scary as hell, but then it became like a drug, and I couldn’t wait to do it again.

“Look, I love to dance, but I’ve never been a stripper. Channing’s one of the best hip-hop street dancers I’ve ever seen, and I didn’t want to challenge his style, so I worked on my own strengths. I also knew that my dance had to be the dirtiest. It had to be wonderfully filthy.”

Magic Mike opens in America at the end of June and is scheduled to be released in South Africa on July 20. Watch the trailer below.